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Meerkat
A Meerkat(Siricata suricatta) is a small mammal found in the mongoose family. The other name which they are refered to is Suricates. Meerkats inhabit all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa. Meerkats got their name from a word meaning 'loaward' in the language of Afrikaans. The name has a Dutch origin but by misidentification. In Dutch the name 'meerkat' means 'guenon'. Meerkats are small animals and therefore like all small species, they have a high predation rate. That is why they have adapted very well to life in the desret areas through team work. A meerkat's life depends almost about 80% on team work which is why meerkats are animals with the most sophisticated social structure than compared to any other animal and the basic building block of the social structure is the family group called a mob. Meerkats live in mobs inorder to not only share sentry duty to give an early warning system for predators but also support each other and mentain the well being of all individuals within the mob. This is what makes meerkats so unique in a sense that very few animal species have the same cohesive society as meerkats. Anatomy A meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid(mongoose). Males weigh 731 grams(1.61 pounds) and females weigh 720 grams(1.58 pounds). It has a long slender body and limbs give it a body length of 25 to 35 cm(10 to 14 inches) and with a tail length of 17 to 25 cm(7 to 10 inches). Its tail is not bushy like other mongoose species but is rather long,thin and with tappers to a black tipped coloured tail. Meerkats use their tails for balance when standing upright. Its face tappers coming to a point at the nose which is brown. Their eyes always have black patches around them which help to deflect the galre of the sun. Meerkats have small black crescent-shaped ears that can close when digging to keep sand out. They have binocular vision, a large peripheral range,depth percipitation and eyes on the front of their faces. At the end of each of a meerkat's fingers is a nonrectractable claw used for digging holes for prey. Claws are used at the muscular hind-legs to help climb the occasional tree. THey have four toes on each foot and long slender limbs. The coat is fawn in colour with short parallel stripes across their backs, extending from the base of the tail to the shoulders. The patterns of stripes are unique to each individual. The underside of the body has no markings but the belly has a patch of which is only sparsley with hair and shows black skin underneath. Meerkats use this area of their body to absorb the sun's heat when standing on their rear legs usually early in the mornings after cold desrt nights. Diet and foraging behavior Meerkats are primarily insectivores preying on on a variety of insects. They also prey on: (1)Lizards (2)Scorpions (3)Snakes (4)Spiders (5)Plants (6)Eggs (7)Small vertebrates (8)Millepedes (9)Centipedes (10)Burrowing skinks (11)Small birds ( on rare occasions) Meerkats are partially immune to certain venoms such as the strong venom of scorpions in the Kalahari Desert unlike humans. They have no excess body fat stores and therefore foraging for food is a daily activity. Meerkats forage in a mob with one individual being on sentry duty keeping watch for predators while the rest of the group forages for food. Sentry duty is approximately 1 hour long. Pups do not start to endependently forage for their own food until about 1 month old and do so by watching an older member in the group who acts as a Pup tutor. The individual on sentry duty gives a peeping sound called the Watchman's song that reasures the other meerkats that there is someone on sentry duty. Predators Meerkats have many predators which is why they live in mobs to provide an early warning system. Some of their natural predators include: (1).Martial eagles (which is their number one enemy) (2).Goss hawks (3).Black-backed jackals (4).Genet cats (mostly preys on pups rather than adults) (5).Giant eagle owls Social structure Meerkats are co-operatively breeding animals, subordinate individuals help to raise pups which are not their own. They live in Mobs of 5-50 individuals consisting of a Alpha pair and their offspring which remain in their natal group until adulthood and help the dominant pair to raise more litters. The alpha pair are usually the only individuals who successfully breed and the survival of pups depends during the rainy season when their is abundance of food and the aviailability of helpers to help rear their pups. Mob Other linked article: Mob Meerkats live a life which is 80% based on team work. Their small size makes them highly predatable so they live in family groups called a Mob. By living in a mob they not only provide each other with an early warning system incase of predators but also other life structures depend on group living. Meerkats live in mobs which can varry in terms of size depending on food availability and resources within their territory range. A single mob can have 5-50 members. Normally males who are in their 1st or 2nd year of life contribute to sentry duty more often but females can also frequently contribute, infact, all members except the dominant female will usually contribute at sentry duty at regular occasions. LIving in a mob also helps with co-operative breeding by provinding the alpha pair with helpers to rear pups. As the pups grow they will need to learn how to forage. Category:Meerkats